Hiring
by madelinesticks
Summary: Steam Powered Giraffe fic. Prompt: A Walter or the bots go to get some Walter Girls!


At first, The Spine had convinced Rabbit and Hatchworth that all they were doing was visiting The Jon in Biscuit Town. Him and Boft had become the best of pals, though Boft seemed a lot more flustered and rushed than he had with the previous Mayor.  
And then they hadn't gone straight home. The Spine had explained away that they were merely visiting Prefurbia for a little while: a holiday of sorts. Of course, Rabbit, being Rabbit, found the posters and the forms after rifling through The Spine's bag. The Spine found himself indignant that Rabbit went through his bags over Peter V's, but he supposed he shouldn't be surprised.  
"But we keep it in the f-f-family!" Peter V gave a quiet groan.  
"Rabbit, Mister Reed isn't related to us. Nor is Mister Smith, nor Mister Negrete, nor-"  
"Tha's di-different!" Rabbit grumbled.  
"Is it? How so?"  
"We need 'em." The Spine rolled his eyes.  
"We need a few helpers in the Manor, Rabbit. Wouldn't you rather a few Prefurbians than humans?"  
"No." Rabbit said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest in a gesture that would have better suited a young toddler. Hatchworth sat to the side, nervously fidgeting with his hands.  
"What if they don't like us?" He asked, and The Spine gave a small, comforting nod in his direction.  
"That's the point of us being here." He said in the best tone of consolation he could manage. "We can meet the new engineers, see how they'd do with us or with training." Rabbit grumbled something that was mostly profanity, but The Spine ignored him.  
"Interviews start tomorrow."  
There was a fair amount of interest from the Prefurbians, despite the fact that most chose immortality resulting from the Blue Matter field over leaving the city. There were a good fifty applicants, and The Spine attempted professionalism as best he could manage in the interviews.  
Of course, Hatchworth sat mostly staring at his hands, intimidated for whatever reason (The Spine was certain Rabbit was to blame) and unwilling to talk with the potential employees. Rabbit was shooting ridiculous questions and snide comments to most of them, and many of them were put off by the copper automaton's bite.  
Then, of course, there were two girls that came in together, cheerful and bright-eyed. Rabbit had gone silent, blinking at them as they quietly spoke about being interested in the job, about how both had trained in basic engineering and already had some knowledge of Blue Matter-run systems.  
"I want them." Rabbit said simply when they turned away. The Spine and V both turned to stare at him, eyebrows raised on the both of them (though Peter's were raised above empty sockets).  
"I thought you didn't want new engineers?"  
"I l-liked them." Rabbit said firmly. "They was funny-"  
"Were." The Spine corrected absent-mindedly.  
"And they were nice and they smiled pretty-"  
"Prettily."  
"And they were polite and I liked 'em." The Spine looked to Peter V, who gave a bemused shrug.  
"How about you, Hatchy?" The Spine asked.  
"They were nice." That was all Hatchworth would say after a glare from Rabbit, and while it would probably take him an age, The Spine made a mental note to pry whatever horror stories Rabbit had told him out of his youngest brother. It was more for the sake of his own curiosity than anything else.  
"Uh, okay. Paige Law and Brianna Clawson then?" The Spine asked for confirmation, looking back to Peter.  
"I stopped caring thirty applicants ago." Peter admitted, sounding tired. The Spine gave a short huff and began signing forms, looking for the girls' contact details.  
They readily accepted the pay and the board, both eager and enthusiastic to work for the Walters. The name was somewhat well-known in Prefurbia, not just for the engineering in the city but also for the fact that one of the Walter 'bots had gotten very good at advertising his run for office.  
They traveled back home with the girls, and, surprisingly, Rabbit helped in settling them in and showing them around the Manor. Later that first day, when both the new employees were settled in bed, The Spine caught Rabbit's shoulder in the kitchen.  
"What is it about them?" He asked. Rabbit shifted away from The Spine's grip - it seemed he'd been heading outside, probably to go down to the Walter graveyard, and The Spine felt a little guilt for stopping him. Rabbit kept quiet for a small time, and then shrugged.  
"They're good souls." He said simply, and headed outside wearing The Spine's coat for the sake of the rain. Normally The Spine would have complained, but he let the other automaton be.  
Shaking his head bemusedly, he readied himself to go up to his own room and slip into well-needed stasis.


End file.
